2nd Test: Washington Sundar remains ‘positive’ despite India’s struggles against South Africa

Guwahati, Nov 24 As India fell into serious trouble in the second Test match against South Africa in Guwahati on Monday, Washington Sundar expressed cautious optimism, stating that the team must "stay positive" despite giving up a huge first-innings deficit.

On Monday, South Africa took a commanding 314-run lead after India was bowled out for just 201, giving up control of the game. India's lineup struggled against a disciplined and tenacious Proteas attack on nearly perfect batting conditions, mostly due to poor shot selection.

“Got to stay positive in life. You never know what will happen,” Sundar said when asked about India’s chances after a difficult Day 3 at the Barsapara Stadium.

India's innings was further derailed when captain Rishabh Pant and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel fell while attempting aggressive strokes against left-arm quick Marco Jansen. However, Sundar believed that blaming the collapse solely on those decisions would be unjust.

“On another day, both those shots would have gone into the stands, and all of us would have appreciated and clapped. That’s how it is,” he said at the post-day media interaction.

“Sometimes you just have to back their plans and their skill sets as well, given the fact that they have shown a lot of proof and evidence in the past as well. Obviously, execution didn’t go the way we wanted,” he added.

India had a great start to the day thanks to a 65-run opening partnership between KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Except for Sundar's own tough 48 from No. 8, the highest score of the innings, the hosts were reduced to 122 for seven due to a barrage of wickets. Only one game had passed since he finished that Test as India's top run scorer while batting at No. 3 in Kolkata.

“I would say I am happiest to bat wherever the team wants me to bat. That way, it is a lot more exciting. This is a team game. There are a lot of strategies that go into the game depending on the conditions, depending on the opposition. It is very tactical at times. Even in football, if you see good players, they might only get to play 20–30 minutes. That’s how the game is,” he said.

Sundar acknowledged that there was no set strategy for session goals or scoring rates when considering India's batting strategy.

“In a five-day match, I don’t think you have to think about score or run rate, especially against a quality bowling attack. We just wanted to play it just like any other Test innings. If anything, we would have probably planned tomorrow.

“If we were in a scenario where we only lost 4–5 wickets today, then we can always plan tomorrow, and we bat quite deep as well. Going into the day-to-day, I don’t think there was any plan as to how much we need to get today or probably in the first innings as well.”

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